| Product: |
Blackout - Britney Spears |
| Date: |
13/02/08 (263 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Consistent, polished dance/pop
Disadvantages: Weak vocals and uninspired subject matter
Few singers are as prominent in the world's press these days as our Miss Spears. Rarely does a day go by where we aren't regaled with another picture of her wandering the streets in a pair of ripped tights and a straw hat. It's becoming increasingly difficult to remember why Britney's famous; before the drugs, tantrums and mental breakdown, she was one of the world's biggest selling female solo artists. It's even more difficult to remember that she still is, as her musical reputation disappears into obscurity, overshadowed by custody battles and trips to psychiatric hospitals.
In the midst of all this, Britney produced her fifth studio album, Blackout. After the apparently premature release of a Greatest Hits compilation in 2004, it came as something of a relief to Britney's fans that new original material was available and the album was released in October 2007 to an audience full of anticipation. It was an uncharacteristically quiet arrival. Britney was already drowning in emotional and marital problems and was barely able to pull herself together long enough for any kind of promotional activity (her disastrous appearance at an American music award ceremony will surely go down in history.) Expecting a complete dog's dinner, the world was therefore somewhat surprised to find that Blackout was not the career killer they were expecting.
A spokesperson for Britney's record label claimed that the name of the album was about "blacking out negativity and embracing life". Indeed, Britney herself was keen to persuade everybody that she would be invigorating the current music scene. Clearly, she hasn't achieved this but what she has done is produce a reasonably catchy selection of contemporary pop / dance songs, with strong influences from both the urban and electro-house music scenes.
Britney's profile as a singer (and a celebrity) means that she was able to surround herself with the best music producers in the current scene and names like Bloodshy and Avant (who were behind the huge single Toxic), Pharrell Williams, Sean Garrett and Danja have been lined up on production and / or writing duties. The finished product is not actually that far removed from her last album and works to a fairly consistent formula. Spears' vocals have never been the strongest and whilst her trademark squawk has been played down to an extent, it crops up every now and again as if to remind us that this is the same person who sang Baby One More Time. Most of the songs are production-rich, absorbed in vocal and instrumental effects that disguise the weakness of Britney's vocals and draw the listener's ears into a finished effect, as opposed to a good old-fashioned song. Backing vocals and samples are used to great effect, more so on some songs more than others and whilst this is generally quite effective, the producers occasionally try just a bit too hard. This isn't Britney and Friends; this is supposed to be Britney.
If Blackout had a tagline, it would almost certainly be, "look, no knickers". As Britney tries harder and harder to be sexy, she seems to succeed less and less and in spite of counter claims from her marketing team, Blackout is an excellent reflection of the way in which Britney's world is headed. In the video for "Gimme More" she writhes ironically around a night-club as a pole dancer, seeming to believe that we want her to give us more of thus, when in fact we'd rather she just got on with some good pop songs, but it's a trend that's evident throughout the album, no more so than on "Get Naked (I Got A Plan)" where she musically rests her breasts suggestively on her audience's lap, regardless of whether she was invited or not.
Blackout isn't one of those albums you can listen to end-to-end, the novelty and appeal wearing off part-way into the running time. The Danja tracks are the strongest. The aforementioned "Get Naked" is probably the most notable of them all, more so because of the strange vocodered male vocal that is far "dirtier" than Britney's breathy, rather desperate ranting about whipping her drawers off. "Gimme More" (the first single) works in a similar vein, but wasn't perhaps strong enough to lead the album. "Break The Ice" has a more noticeable R & B feel, sounding not unlike something that Rihanna might have produced and Britney's vocals work well here. "Hot As Ice" is bubble-gum Bronx, with an overall sound that curiously puts Britney backs about ten years in sound, but it somehow works. "Perfect Lover" is another "show us your bits" song but the softer vocals mean that it is slightly more effective in its intentions that some of the albums other material.
The Pharrell song "Why Should I Be Sad" is the strongest R & B track and probably exposes the inadequacies of Britney's vocals the most, as the song feels as though it really should be sung by someone like Kelly Rowland or Rihanna. Pharrell's backing vocals are a welcome addition, but serve only to further prove the fact that the song should be on someone else's album. Kara DioGuardi contributes only one song here, "Ooh Ooh Baby", which sounds not unlike a Gwen Stefani song (and would almost certainly sound benefit if the ex No Doubt singer did the vocals). This is the closest to a traditional pop song that the album has to offer and is one of the more infectious.
The Bloodshy and Avant songs are a fairly mixed bag. "Piece of Me" (the second single) is the most likeable of the bunch, threatening to expose a rather more self-aware Britney than we've ever seen before. Deriding the popular press (and all those who support it) Britney jaunts through a catchy little tune that sounds not unlike the material Madonna was doing five years ago (anyone remember Music?). "Radar" is truly awful, the sort of song you might expect your little sister to construct in her bedroom whilst messing around with her friends. "Freakshow" is better, with a slightly harder edge and stronger overall arrangement. "Toy Soldier" is even better again, with a curiously mechanical electro-pop sound (and accompanying vocal) and would certainly make a strong single release.
Blackout is inescapably Britney-esque, and a logical progression from her last album. Dismissing the belief that less is more, Britney goes for overload here, drowning us in samples, production techniques and gimmicks. It doesn't fool anyone, of course, but it does deliver a surprisingly likeable album in the face of expectations of something inferior. It's difficult to associate the album with a mood. This is probably best described as "radio music; approachable in small doses but not something to immerse yourself in. I like it; but only so far.
The standard album contains 12 tracks, but there are up to six additional tracks / mixes that can be found on various international or download versions.
Summary: Britney's fifth studio effort surprises and disappoints in equal doses
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